Gulf Coast News

Port of LA Exec Says US Tariff Tiffs Could Be 'New Normal'

The executive overseeing the busiest U.S. gateway for ocean trade with China on Thursday said the "weaponization of tariffs" to advance U.S. policy interests may now be the "new normal."The comments from Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka came just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu signed a Phase 1 agreement to defuse their 18-month-long trade war.The partial pact will cut some U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for Chinese pledges to purchase more American farm…

Corpus Christi Crude Exports Boom

U.S. crude exports from Corpus Christi, Texas, have surged to a record in recent weeks, often surpassing hubs such as Houston and Beaumont, Texas, thanks to faster-than-expected infrastructure additions.The infrastructure boom at Corpus Christi helped push crude exports there to a weekly record of 1.59 million barrels per day (bpd) in late December, more than doubling levels that held for the first eight months of last year, and above Houston's 2019 peak of 1.36 million bpd, according to vessel-tracking firm ClipperData.The heavy flows suggest that fears of a bottleneck that would impede U.S.

Hinkebein Named Ingalls Media Manager

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced that Teckie Hinkebein has joined its corporate communications team as a manager of media relations. She will report to Beci Brenton, corporate director of public affairs.“Teckie brings more than a decade of communications expertise to our corporate communications team,” said Jerri Dickseski, HII’s executive vice president of communications. “Her knowledge of media relations and marketing, existing relationships with local media and…

U.S.-Europe Tanker Rates at Record Highs

Rates for Aframax-class crude oil tankers leaving the U.S. Gulf Coast hit a record this week, according to three shipbrokers, reflecting strong demand in Europe and the Mediterranean for low-sulfur crude.Equinor ASA and Unipec, the trading arm of China's top refiner Sinopec, provisionally chartered Aframax tankers Everest Spirit and Nordorchid, respectively, this week at rates of 245 worldscale points, according to one broker and Refinitiv Eikon data. Both vessels are headed to Europe.The worldscale rate translates to about $60…

Retail Imports to See Final Tariff-Driven Surge

Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports are expected to see their final surge of the year this month ahead of new tariffs set to take effect in December, according to the Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.“Retailers are highly competitive, but the ability to compete has been challenging this year because of the uncertainty of the trade war and continued tariff escalation,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said.

Energy Transfer: VLCC Offshore Port to be Ready Early 2023

Energy Transfer LP said on Thursday discussions with potential shippers to build an offshore crude export facility in Texas capable of handling supertankers were progressing on schedule, with the project expected to be in service by late 2022 or early 2023.The company has also made advances on the regulatory and permitting process for the project, Marshall McCrea, Energy Transfer's chief commercial officer, said on the company's quarterly earnings call.Plans call for the facility to be connected to Energy Transfer's Nederland…

Exxon, Trafigura Tap Lower Freight Rates

U.S. crude exports to Asia, which have slumped due to record freight costs, stirred on Thursday as rates slid and the premium in Asia for Russia's ESPO Blend oil sent buyers back to U.S. grades, according to market sources.Oil shipping costs for United States Gulf Coast to Asia cooled this week from record highs on the prospect of more vessels becoming available. Nearly 300 oil tankers globally were placed off limits due to U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela.Seventeen supertankers returned to service in October after being sidelined for overhauls, as 11 entered drydocks.

HII Expands Shipbuilder Academy Program

America’s largest military shipbuilding company Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) said that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday for its new Shipbuilder Academy site in Gulfport.Shipbuilder Academy was established in 2016 at Ingalls’ Maritime Training Academy with a mission to provide enrolled students with a strong foundation in the maritime industry and fill the current industry skills gap.Through a partnership with the Gulfport School District…

Disruptions to Global Shipping Industry Explained

Oil shipping rates are soaring following a series of sanctions on a Chinese transportation giant and limitations placed on movement of Venezuelan crude oil tankers.WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO SHIPPING RATES?The cost of chartering a supertanker to send crude oil from one country to another is rising sharply. A South Korean importer paid more than $12 million in shipping costs for one crude shipment from the U.S. Gulf Coast. This was followed by Friday's tentative charter of another crude…

Occidental Tentatively Fixes VLCC for Record $13.25 mln to Asia

Occidental Petroleum Corp provisionally chartered a supertanker to ship U.S. crude to South Korea for a new record of $13.25 million in November, three shipping sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Maran Andromeda was chartered by Occidental on Friday for an estimated Nov. 20 departure, according to one shipbroker and Refinitiv Eikon shipping data.Global shipping rates, and in particular U.S. Gulf Coast to Asia <TD-LPP-SIN>, have skyrocketed after the United States in late September imposed sanctions on two units of China's COSCO…

VLCC Rates Surge as U.S. Sanctions COSCO

Freight rates to ship U.S. crude to Asia continued to surge, with costs to charter a supertanker rising to a record $12 million on Thursday, shipping sources familiar with the matter said.South Korea's top refiner, SK Energy, tentatively chartered the supertanker Maxim to ship U.S. crude to South Korea in November for a record $10 million earlier in the week but that fixture has since failed, the sources said.The company now has conditionally booked the Pacific M at a new record of $12.35 million…

AEC Collaborates with ABS for ULEC

American Ethane Company (AEC) is collaborating with ABS, the global provider of classification and technical advisory services to the marine and offshore industries, on a next generation fleet of Ultra Large Ethane Carriers (ULEC).ABS is actively supporting AEC and its shipping project partners, who will build, own and operate a fleet of ULECs to transport 7.2 MTPA of US ethane to China.“ABS is a world leader in the classification of gas carriers and classes the majority of the large ethane carriers built to date…

Florida Braces for a Hit as Dorian Strengthens

Florida's governor on Friday urged residents in the state to stock up on at least a week's worth of food, water and medicine and to prepare to lose power and cellphone service for days after Hurricane Dorian makes landfall early next week.The slow march and rising intensity of the storm, which is moving in a northwestern direction to the Bahamas, has alarmed forecasters who worry parts of Florida will be walloped by strong winds, a storm surge and heavy rain for an extended period."I think there’s a pretty high degree of certainty that this is going to be a major hurricane…

Inland Container on Vessel Logistics Advance

Missouri Port Authorities Team Up To Advance Plan For Statewide Initiative That Focuses On Innovative Inland Waterway Container-On-Vessel Freight Service.Missouri Governor Michael Parson visited the Mississippi River town of Herculaneum on August 12 to find out more about statewide efforts to deliver a new option to transport freight along the inland waterways and what role an innovative waterway vessel could play in moving larger volumes of goods and commodities along both the Mississippi River and Missouri River and their tributaries.

Missouri Plans Inland Container-On-Vessel Service

Missouri Governor Michael Parson visited the Mississippi River town of Herculaneum on August 12 to find out more about statewide efforts to deliver a new option to transport freight along the inland waterways and what role an innovative waterway vessel could play in moving larger volumes of goods and commodities along both the Mississippi River and Missouri River and their tributaries. He was joined by a group of Missouri lawmakers, Jefferson County elected officials, representatives from the port authorities of Jefferson County, Kansas City and Jefferson City, and others.

ICE, Magellan to Offer Dock Capacity to Houston Oil Futures Customers

Intercontinental Exchange Inc and Magellan Midstream Partners LP said on Wednesday they would auction dock capacity at Magellan's terminals in Galena Park and Seabrook, Texas, for holders of ICE's Permian West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures contracts.The monthly auction process will allow customers who purchase an ICE Permian WTI crude futures contract, deliverable at Magellan's East Houston terminal (MEH), the option to load crude directly onto a vessel at Galena Park and Seabrook dock facilities for export…

Retail Imports at Near-Record Levels Despite Tariffs

Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports are expected to continue at near-record levels this month and the remainder of the year despite a new round of tariffs on goods from China, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.“Even with virtually everything American imports from China soon to be subject to tariffs, it isn’t quick or easy for retailers to change their supply chains,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said.

Port Manatee wins $1.4 million for Port Security

Port Manatee has been awarded $1,425,000 in federal funding to advance three projects to bolster security at the fast-growing Central-Southwest Florida Gulf Coast port.“Port Manatee greatly appreciates federal support of our efforts to ensure safe, secure and efficient flows of dynamically increasing cargo volumes,” Vanessa Baugh, chairwoman of the Manatee County Port Authority, said today, following notification of the fiscal 2019 Port Security Grant Program award from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency.David St.

Rep. Gunn Addresses Ingalls Graduates

Huntington Ingalls Industries hosted a graduation ceremony on Saturday for the company’s apprenticeship program at Ingalls Shipbuilding. Nine different crafts were represented among the 159 graduates of the 2019 class.Mississippi Speaker of the House, Philip Gunn, delivered the keynote address. “The prosperity of Mississippi begins with people like you,” he said. “The careers for which you are now prepared are the backbone of America. Over 60 percent of the jobs in America are held by people like you who make up a skilled and educated workforce.

Fire Erupts at Exxon's Baytown complex; 37 Hurt

Exxon Mobil Corp said it was fighting a fire that erupted on Wednesday at its Baytown, Texas, refining and chemical plant complex injuring 37 people and sending nearby residents indoors.As many as 37 people were being treated for non-life threatening injuries amid efforts to put out the fire, according to Exxon spokeswoman Sarah Nordin. Available air monitoring information showed "no adverse impact at this time," she said.More than three dozen people were treated for minor burns, none requiring hospitalization, said plant manager Jason Duncan in an afternoon media briefing.

National Hurricane Center Miami Issues Hurricane Watch

A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for: Mouth of the Pearl River to Intracoastal City. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for: Mouth of the Mississippi River to Cameron. A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for: Mouth of the Mississippi River northward to the Mouth of the Pearl River.A Storm Surge Watch means there is a possibility of life-threatening inundation from rising water moving inland from the coastline in the indicated locations during the next 48 hours. For a depiction of areas at risk please see the National Weather Service Storm Surge Watch/Warning Graphic available at hurricanes.gov.

Mammoet USA Partners with Alabama Port

Mammoet has announced its partnership with Core Industries, the owner and operator of Theodore Industrial Port near Mobile, Alabama. Under the agreement, Mammoet will have the opportunity to work with Core and utilize the 400 acres of land at the port, positioning the company closer to Mobile’s well-established chemical industry. Over the years, the Mobile area’s chemical industry has expanded along a 60-mile corridor, with new and existing companies continuously taking advantage of the infrastructure and existing synergies in the area.

ARG, Sea Ready Enter Marine Lube Deal

American Refining Group Inc. (ARG) announced its new partnership with veteran-owned small business Sea Ready Marine Petroleum, as ARG has designated Sea Ready as its global distributor of its refinery’s marine lubricants.Already the largest zinc-free (ZF) railroad-engine oil supplier east of the Mississippi River, ARG is taking its marine line of Specialty Lubricants to sea. The full line includes formulations customers have relied upon and trusted for decades, particularly its…

Light Sweet Crude Exports Jump at LOOP

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) exported a record 283,333 barrels per day of light sweet crude last month, according to trade sources, as prices weakened against global Brent.LOOP, which exports mostly medium sour grades produced in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, last month exported more than twice the amount of light sweet from the prior month. Overall exports of U.S. crude hit a record 3.77 million barrels per day (bpd) one week in June, U.S. government data showed.A decline in oil imports at the facility, stemming from record U.S.

New Orleans Braces for TS Barry

Some residents and visitors prepared to flee New Orleans on Thursday as Tropical Storm Barry closed in and city officials warned of severe flooding if it makes landfall by early Saturday as the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2019 season.The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (64 kph) as of 10 a.m. CDT (1500 GMT) on Thursday, the National Weather Service said.Forecasters issued a storm-surge warning for a stretch of Louisiana coastline south of already-sodden New Orleans stretching from the mouth of the Atchafalaya River to Shell Beach.

Big Easy Braces for Barry Flooding; Emergency Declared

New Orleans braced for severe flooding with residents told to hunker down as a growing tropical storm in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico headed for landfall late on Friday or early on Saturday as the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019.U.S. President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency for the state of Louisiana late on Thursday, hours after the region's oil production was cut by half as energy companies evacuated offshore drilling facilities and a coastal refinery.Tropical Storm…